I Am Thankful For…Twiga

Mom says that this is the time of year where we have to say to everyone the things we’re thankful for.  There’s a ton of super obvious things I could give thanks for, like my mom and nice weather and yummy food, but instead I’ll give thanks for something most dogs never would: a kitty cat.  And I’m not just thankful for any old kitty cat, I’m thankful for Twiga.

My Bro Twiga

Now Twiga, he just gets me.  Even though we’re different species, we have a special way of communicating, which I won’t reveal here because then mom would know all our secrets.  What I will share with you is how Twiga bathes me in the evenings.  This is one of my favorite times of the day, I feel like I’m at the spa!

Twiga gives me my nightly bath

I know y’all might judge me, but you know what?  I don’t care!  I love my little kitty brother and here’s a video that we made together to prove it: http://youtu.be/OjHgIE4vmf4.

Enjoy!  And Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Reason #3 I’m Becoming Tanzanian

I have a pet monkey.  Yup, you read that right, a PET MONKEY.  Now, mind you, this was not my idea.  It was my crazy mom and Aunt Amanda who decided that this was a good idea, but you know, I’m going to try and embrace it as the man of the household.

Mom and Flimpong

Aunt Amanda and Flimpong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, here’s the story: Mom’s friend Missy is moving back to Canada and she needed a home for her monkey, named Flimpong, and her dog, named Bob.  Being awesome friends, mom and Aunt Amanda volunteered to care for Missy’s animals until they could find a more permanent home since our house has such an amazing yard and also because my mom loves animals.

Of course, no one alerted me regarding this decision so I was caught completely off-guard when these new animals arrived.  If I had known I would have at least put on a shirt or something.  Anyway, first I met Bob, who is your regular-old Tanzanian dog.

Hey there Bob, My name is Tito

Next it was time to meet Flimpong, the monkey.  More specifically, Flimpong is a Vervet Monkey, which I discovered after doing some research about my new housemate.  Flimpong is also a boy, like me, but he is two years old, which makes him older than me, although if you take life-expectancy into account, I believe I’m definitely more mature than this Flimpong character.

Family Meeting

I haven’t had much experience with monkeys before, so I wasn’t quite sure how to behave.  I mean, I’ve always been very well-liked by other dogs and kitties too, but monkeys are a whole new story.  So, I just treated Flimpong like a dog, but I’m not sure this sat well with him.  Apparently, monkeys like to slap other animals (and people too) so Flimpong ran around trying to slap me and also poor Twiga, who had no idea what to make of this whole situation.  Needless to say, Twiga was not impressed.

Twiga is NOT a fan

So here’s what I’ve learned: monkeys CAN be fun, but they are also terrible in new social situations.  I mean, who slaps a cute kitty like Twiga?  But, Flimpong is capable of playing like a dog.  For example, Bob, Flimpong, and I played a game of tag for at least 30 minutes, which was excellent exercise for me (God knows I need it)!

TAG! I’m it

Flim (I’ll call him that for short) likes to climb, as you can imagine monkeys do, but he also has to be connected to a rope so he doesn’t run away.  This results in a lot of interesting situations where Flim just gets all tied up in knots.  Now, at first I thought that monkeys would be smart, like humans and that Flim could simply untangle himself, but no!  He definitely needs assistance.

The second day he was here, Flim climbed all the way to the top of a tree in our yard and got himself stuck up there.  Aunt Amanda tried and tried to figure out how to get him down, but she just couldn’t do it.  So, we had to call in the Maasai for help.  The Maasai are warriors and they kill lions and such, so they’re really quite fearless and this was showcased when our Maasai came to the rescue of poor Flim.  The Maasai climbed a rickety ladder and then jumped onto some tiny, flimsy branches in order to free Flim from his tangled mess!

Agatha and the Maasai saving Flim

While Flim doesn’t quite have the intelligence of a human, he certainly does show some of their strange characteristics from time to time.  For example, he sits like a human man watching football and also likes to eat banana bread!

Banana bread time

Flim’s man pose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, there you have it.  I’m even more Tanzanian than I was last week just by virtue of obtaining a pet monkey.  I mean how many of my American canine friends can say the same, right?

 

Guest Blog: Twiga

Hey all, Twiga here.  That’s right, it’s me, the new cat.  I’ve decided to make the dog let me tell my side of the story, but I don’t know how to use one of these fancy computer machines, so I’m dictating and he’s typing, but trust me, these are MY words.

It’s me, Twiga

Where to begin?  Like many African dogs and cats, I found myself homeless, sick, and hungry.  I wandered around Mwanza searching for a place to make my permanent residence, but the streets here can be harsh for a cat like me.  Eventually, I made my way to Isamilo, where many mzungus live.  I figured mzungus were my best bet for survival since they tend to be more sympathetic to the plight of animals than Tanzanians.

I spent about a week investigating my options in Isamilo.  I researched the trash outside the homes, and watched who went in and out trying to determine which house was most likely to take me in and care for me.

Wednesday was the big day.  I had chosen the pretty pink house with 2 yellow-haired mzungu girls.  During the afternoon, while everyone was away I climbed in through the gutter from the trash alley behind the house.

The back alley from whence I came

The gutter: entrance to my new home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once inside, all I had to do was wait.  What I hadn’t factored into the equation was this:

Tito

But when you’ve arrived at this paradise, any obstacle can be overcome:

The paradise I wandered into, NEVER LEAVING

Turns out, the dog actually alerted the humans to my presence and as I suspected they fell for my cuteness and I was immediately brought inside for some food and a cleaning.  I’m not a fan of getting wet, but I knew there were certain discomforts I’d have to withstand in order to be accepted into the household.

I honestly can’t believe my good luck.  I never expected my plan to go as well as it has.  I mean, these people, they gave me my own room, with a nice bed in it.

My bed

My very own room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also make me homemade meals every day and give me all the food I could ever want.  It’s like they actually CARE about nutrition!  They make me a mixture of rice, milk, carrots, and little fish.  I won’t be skinny and sick for long on this new diet.  They even give me water from a special container so I don’t have to drink water from a puddle or from the faucet.  These people, they think of everything!

My water comes from here

Every time is meal time now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, about that dog.  He’s actually not so bad.  And I know the humans like me more because I get along with the dog.  He’s not the brightest animal I’ve ever met, but darn it, he’s loyal and protects his family, which is more than I can say for any dog I’ve ever met before in my life.  So, to all you cats and dogs who said I’d never make, LOOK AT ME NOW!

My watchdog

Me and my new bro

 

 

 

Nakuru to Mwanza

Our final day in the car began in Nakuru.  I woke up to a misty view of Lake Nakuru.  On the way out of the National Park, we got to go on a mini-game drive where I saw a neat animal that wasn’t quite a cow, or a goat either; mom said she thought it was some kind of antelope.  Another new animal to check off my list!

A new animal!

When we got to the exit gate, mom wrapped me up and started acting all weird again.  I was excited because there were these tiny, hairy, human looking things that mom called baboons, but she told me I had to stay quiet and not move 😦  Apparently, I had to hide to get OUT of the National Park too.

Once we were out, I rested.

I LOVE SLEEPING!

A few hours into the drive, mom woke me up to see the scenery.  There were fields and fields and fields of green that mom said were tea fields.  It was so pretty!

Me and mom at the tea fields

After the tea fields, the scenery was the same old, same old again, so I found another comfy spot in the car.

Looking forward to getting home

Finally, we passed through the border at a familiar place, the Isebania/Sirari border.  As we were on the final stretch towards Mwanza, we were entertained by a fascinating lightning storm.  Welcome back to Mwanza!

Mwanza Lightning

 

The way we drove